Ben Nevis: Hiking To The Top Of Great Britain - By Lisa Ballard

I have this addiction to standing on top of the highest mountain wherever I travel in the world.

With the opportunity to visit the Scottish Highlands for the first time, there was no question about which peak to climb, Ben Nevis (4,413 feet), the highest point in the British Isles. On paper, Ben Nevis sounded straightforward, 11 miles out and back and a stout 4,400 vertical feet.

The trail would undoubtedly be well-trodden. 150,000 people ascend this landmark each year. Prior to my departure, I found numerous posts on the Internet with the usual weather warnings characteristic of any exposed peak. No problem.

Then an email arrived from the manager at Inverlochy Castle, where I planned to celebrate the climb with a gourmet dinner and sound night’s sleep:

Are you sure you are prepared for a climb up Ben Nevis? The weather has just turned. It’s Scottish winter.

That’s the risk of planning an ascent of Ben Nevis in October. The email gave me pause, but I was already committed to the trip, with a short window to hike. If a storm raged, I would pursue a different Scottish experience, relaxing in the luxurious castle-hotel, warmed by a local single malt whiskey.

On the morning of my climb, drizzle drenched me before I had gone a mile, but I felt good, falling into the familiar rhythm of exertion. My LOWA Renegades kept my feet completely dry.

The rain abated above the verdant sheep pastures at the foot of the mountain. By Halfway Lochan, a mountain tarn just before the midpoint of the route, clouds hung heavily on the upper mountain. No surprise. Ben Nevis wears a cloudy shroud nine out of every ten days.

I hiked into the mist, tromping through an inch of snow which blanketed the talus. Then the hiking gods smiled. Cresting the summit ridge, I reached the tops of the clouds, which swirled up and around me, revealing dramatic precipices to my left and patches of blue sky above.


As I neared the ruins of an old weather observatory on the summit, the clouds cleared completely. Though the temperature hovered around freezing, my heart warmed to the magical moment.

What luck to stand on top of this famous peak at a moment when conditions don’t get any better!